The present invention relates to a three-dimensional image processing apparatus and, more particularly, to a three-dimensional image processing apparatus for displaying soft tissues (also called as parenchyma) of a human body such as an epidermis and a blood vessel.
Recently, three-dimensional image processing techniques using a CT (computed tomography) image and an MR (magnetic resonance) image have been widely developed.
In practice, three-dimensional image processing for bones (hard parts) has been realized in a clinical case. This is because an image of bones can be easily extracted. Bones appear on an X-ray CT image as a portion having a high CT value. Therefore, if a portion having a CT value larger than a predetermined threshold value is defined as a bone, binary display distinguishing between bones and other portions can be performed.
An example of a display method of soft tissues is a method of reconstructing a given section using a plurality of parallel CT images (sagittal, coronal, and oblique images). However, since each image is a section, positional relationship between the images cannot be easily recognized. As a result, it is difficult to allow three-dimensional recognition of the object.
In addition, a demand has recently arisen for three-dimensional simulation in planning an operation. Therefore, a surface image of a given portion of three-dimensional object must be displayed. However, since soft tissues cannot be easily three-dimensionally displayed, it is impossible to simulate an operation.